Beacon composer plans to turn Eiffel Tower into percussion instrument

Beacon composer Joseph Bertolozzi used a variety of hammers in July 1986 to 'play' the steel of the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie.

Beacon composer and musician Joseph Bertolozzi will travel to Paris in January to prepare for a music project in which he will "play" the Eiffel Tower like a percussion instrument.

Bertolozzi January 8 is set to meet with the Eiffel Tower's Chief Engineer, Stéphane Roussin, to identify surfaces on the tower that he will strike with a wide range of implements. Bertolozzi will record the process and compose music from the sounds he makes. Plans call for him to return to Paris in 2013 for the recording sessions, with an ultimate goal of a live performance to mark the Eiffel Tower's 125th anniversary in 2014.

Bertolozzi's European undertaking will be similar to his "Bridge Music" project. In 2006, Bertolozzi "played" the Mid-Hudson Bridge as though it were a percussion instrument. He cobbled together compositions from the many sounds he made and used that recording to try and raise funds for a live performance on the span that connects the Town of Lloyd to the City of Poughkeepsie.

The performance, set to coincide with the 400th anniversary in 2009 of explorer Henry Hudson's historic voyage up the river that would later bear his name, never materialized. But seasonal listening stations featuring Bertolozzi's recordings were established on the span's walkway and the music's broadcast over 95.3 FM at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie and Johnson-Iorio Park in Highland. Bertolozzi also released a CD.

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Beacon composer plans to turn Eiffel Tower into percussion instrument

Beacon composer and musician Joseph Bertolozzi will travel to Paris in January to prepare for a music project in which he will 'play' the Eiffel Tower like a percussion instrument.